1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to automobile seating and storage components, and more specifically to multiple-use in-floor storage receptacles for receiving seating components adapted to fold and store in the receptacle, and a cover assembly for the in-floor receptacle.
2. Description of Related Art
Automobiles with folding or removable seats are well known in the art. The purpose of such seats is to adapt the automobile to multiple functions, such as carrying passengers or carrying cargo. Each of these methods of adapting the automobile has had its respective advantages and disadvantages. The removable seat maximizes the availability of cargo volume, but requires much greater effort on the part of the user to physically remove the seat, and requires that the removed seat be stored outside the vehicle. The vehicle may thus not be available for conversion back to passenger-carrying away from the seat storage location. A folding seat can require minimal actions on the part of the user, but afford only a partial use of available vehicle volume for cargo. The cargo volume may also be uneven, providing an irregular load floor. A further configuration involves folding a seat into a recess for storage to maximize available cargo room, while keeping the seat with the vehicle for later use. This configuration must still deal with the issue of an uneven load floor and the existence of the recess when the seat is in the deployed position.
It would be advantageous to provide an in-floor recess for storage of a folding seat, with a means of covering the recess during seat use, and providing a flat load floor during seat storage.